NSA Chief Can't Explain How Snowden Slipped Through Cracks: 'Clearly The System Did Not Work'

6/23/13 - National Security Agency Chief Keith Alexander appeared on ABC's This Week Sunday morning to denounce Moscow-bound Edward Snowden, but was unable to explain how internal security measures failed to prevent Snowden from making off with so much classified material. "This is an individual who is not acting, in my opinion, with noble intent," Alexander said of the leaker. "What Snowden has revealed has caused irreversible and significant damage to our country and allies."

Host George Stephanopoulos asked Alexander if the government knew how Snowden was able to leave Hawaii with the materials he'd taken.

"Clearly the system did not work as it should have," Alexander said. "This is an individual with top secret clearance whose duty it was to administer these networks. He betrayed that confidence and stole some of our secrets. We are now putting in place actions that would give us the ability to track our system administrators, what they're doing, what they're taking, a two-man rule. We've changed the passwords. But at the end of the day, we have to trust that our people are going to do the right thing. This is an extremely important mission defending our country."

"We have interest in those who collect on us as an intelligence agency. But to say that we're willfully just collecting all sorts of data would give you the impression that we're just trying to canvas the whole world. The fact is what we're trying to do is get the information our nation needs, the foreign intelligence, that primary mission, in this case and the case that Snowden has brought up is in defending this nation from a terrorist attack."

"Are you confident that we have not broken the laws of Hong Kong?" Stephanopoulos asked.

"I'm confident that we're following the laws that our country has," Alexander said. "We have a set of laws that guide how NSA acts; we follow those laws."

Overall, Alexander defended the phone metadata program as entirely within the bounds of law, citing 300 instances in which phone data had been grabbed for fifty cases, ten of which involved a person in the U.S. (like Najibullah Aziz), but that the NSA had never listened in on the phone call of an American citizen.

"We have not, in a single case, had a place where a government official engaged in a willful effort to circumvent or violate the law," Alexander affirmed. "Zero times have we done that."

"We've got to move this debate from a political debate to a debate on national security, because that's what we're talking about and the security of this country."

BREAKING : Edward Snowden asks Ecuador for Asylum ?

Edward Snowden leaves Hong Kong for Russia asks Ecuador for Asylum Snowden left for Third Country


 Edward Snowden leaves for third country : leaves Hong Kong for Russia or Cuba, NSA whistleblower Snowden flies out of Hong Kong

The whistleblower Edward Snowden, who leaked details about US snooping, has left Hong Kong for Russia.

His departure was revealed on the website of the Hong Kong newspaper the South China Morning Post, which said that Russia was not thought to be his intended final destination.

His departure has now been confirmed by the Hong Kong government.

It was thought that the eventual destination could end up being Iceland or Ecuador, but Russia's Interfax news agency says he may be heading to Cuba.

Interfax are saying that there is a flight ticket in his name from Moscow to Cuba.

He is understood to have left Hong Kong on the Russian airline Aeroflot flight SU213 to Moscow.

The paper said it left Hong Kong around 11am local time (4am UK time) and was due to arrive in Moscow around 5.15pm local time (1pm UK time). It is believed to be currently in the air.

The twitter feed of the Wikileaks whistleblowers' website said Snowden is currently over Russian airspace and is being accompanied by its legal advisers.

Snowden left Hong Kong after The White House asked the autonomous Chinese territory to extradite him, after he was charged in the US with espionage.

The website of the South China Morning Post said: "US whistleblower Edward Snowden has left Hong Kong on an Aeroflot flight to Moscow, credible sources have confirmed to the South China Morning Post.

"Moscow will not be his final destination."

WikiLeaks, which has published previous revelations about activities by America's security services, said it had helped Snowden secure political asylum in a "democratic country".

A twitter post said: "WikiLeaks has assisted Mr Snowden's political asylum in a democratic country, travel papers and safe exit from Hong Kong."

The Hong Kong government has said that although the US had sought his extradition, the request did not fully comply with requirements.

Snowden was revealed earlier this month to have been the man who leaked to the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers information about monitoring by America's National Security Agency.

Snowden told the Guardian the National Security Agency has been keeping details of millions of phone calls by Americans and monitoring the use by foreigners of internet sites including Google, Facebook and Yahoo.

The Russian President's office said it has not been given any information about Mr Snowden's imminent arrival.

BREAKING: Edward Snowden Arrives in Moscow, Dr. Carson: ALERT to Reduce Government

Snowden heads to Venezuela via Moscow, Havana: airline source
(Reuters) - Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden will fly from Moscow to Cuba on Monday and then plans to go to Venezuela, a source at the Russian airline Aeroflot said on Sunday.
The source said Snowden was already on his way to Moscow from Hong Kong and would leave for Havana within 24 hours.
The South China Morning Post also reported that Snowden had left Hong Kong for Moscow and that his final destination might be Ecuador or Iceland. The WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website said Snowden was heading for an unnamed "democratic nation".
The flight to Moscow prompted speculation that Snowden might remain in Russia, whose leaders accuse the United States of double standards on democracy and have championed public figures who challenge Western governments.
But Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said he was unaware of Snowden's plans and the Foreign Ministry declined immediate comment on whether he had asked for asylum.
State-run news agency RIA cited an unnamed law enforcement official as saying Russian authorities had "no claims" against Snowden and that there were no orders to detain him.
Interfax news agency cited an unnamed source as saying Snowden apparently did not have a Russian visa, which U.S. citizens need to enter Russia, and that he might not leave the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

BREAKING: Edward Snowden Says US Spies on Chinese Mobile Phone Companies, Steals SMS data

(TheAustralia.com) THE United States government is hacking Chinese mobile phone companies to gather data from millions of text messages, whistleblower Edward Snowden told the South China Morning Post.
US spies have also hacked China's prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing and Asia Pacific fibre-optic network operator Pacnet, the Post quoted Snowden as saying.
Snowden, who worked as a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA), has been charged with espionage by the US after revealing a massive spying program and has gone to ground after fleeing to Hong Kong.
"The NSA does all kinds of things like hack Chinese cell phone companies to steal all of your SMS data," Snowden said in the interview conducted on June 12.
Government data shows almost 900 billion text messages were exchanged in China in 2012.
The claims followed soon after a report in the Guardian in which he claimed the British government's electronic eavesdropping agency had gained secret access to fibre-optic cables carrying global internet traffic and telephone calls.
Britain's Guardian said that Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) had started processing vast amounts of personal information -- including Facebook posts, emails, internet histories and phonecalls -- and is sharing it with the NSA.

The Post has previously quoted Snowden saying there have been more than 61,000 NSA hacking operations globally, targeting powerful "network backbones" that can yield access to hundreds of thousands of individual computers.

He said these included hundreds of targets in mainland China and Hong Kong.

Snowden told the Post in the report published Saturday that Tsinghua University, which counts China's President Xi Jinping and previous President Hu Jintao among its graduates, was the target of extensive hacking by the US.

The university, which is home to the mainland's six major backbone networks from where internet data from millions of Chinese citizens can be gathered, was breached as recently as January, he said.

In 2009, the NSA also attacked Pacnet, the owner of one of the region's biggest fibre-optic networks, the Post reported, citing information provided by Snowden.

Pacnet, which is headquartered in Hong Kong and Singapore, owns 46,000 kilometres of fibre and operates in 13 countries, according to its website.

A US justice department official has confirmed that a sealed criminal complaint has been lodged with a federal court in Virginia and a provisional arrest warrant has been issued for Snowden, who fled to Hong Kong in May.

But Hong Kong government officials Saturday remained tight-lipped as to whether they had received such a request and whether Snowden had been approached.

How Can Edward Snowden Escape Extradition from Hong Kong

Edward Snowden 'can escape US extradition' : After the US bring spying charges against NSA whistelblower Edward Snowden, a Hong Kong barrister says an extradition order may prove troublesome.

URGENT - U.S. Want Whistleblower Edward Snowden Dead Or Alive For Espionage

US federal prosecutors have charged whistleblower Edward Snowden with espionage, theft and conversion of government property in a criminal complaint, and asked Hong Kong to detain him ahead of a move to extradite him.
Charges of espionage and theft are based on Snowden’s extraction of classified documents from NSA servers, which led to publication of several articles regarding the NSA’s surveillance programs, including PRISM, which is alleged to harvest private user data through cooperation with a slew of American corporations including Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Apple and Microsoft.
The implicated companies have denied granting US intelligence services “direct access” to their servers, though during an online chat on Monday Snowden alleged that they had been purposely deceptive in their responses.

From Shy Kid to NSA Leak: Who Is Edward Snowden?

June 20 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Emily Chang reports on the life and career of NSA leaker Edward Snowden. (Source: Bloomberg)

Just Who Really is Edward Snowden The NSA Leaker ?

NSA Leaker Edward Snowden: How to Go Undercover in Hong Kong : June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Rosalind Chin reports on the obstacles NSA leaker Edward Snowden faces as he hides in Hong Kong. (Source: Bloomberg)

Edward Snowden: Cheney Calling Me a Traitor Is The Highest Honor an American can Get

June 17 (Bloomberg) -- NSA leaker Edward Snowden answered questions online. Peter Cook reports on Bloomberg Television's "Money Moves." (Source: Bloomberg)

Edward Snowden Claims US Hacked China Targets

6/13/13 Report: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who leaked information about US surveillance programmes, claims that the American government has been hacking into computers in Hong Kong and mainland China for years. The South China Morning Post, which is based in Hong Kong, reported that Snowden said that one of the main targets was the Chinese University of Hong Kong as well as public officials, businesses and students in the city.

Ma Ngok, associate professor of the Department of Government and Public Administration at the university said he was shocked to hear that his emails may have been monitored.

"Of course as a person I don't like my email being watched by a government, but I'm also surprised because I think most of my emails are academic and educational stuff, and there is nothing related to the national security of the US," he said.

He also said that this incident might weaken the power of the US in its wranglings with China on the issue of cyber security.

The South China Morning Post's News Editor, Chow Chung-yan, said that Mr Snowden, who is currently in hiding in Hong Kong, was "fully aware of his actions as well as the consequences of his actions".

Mike Rivero ~ Obam Wants to Kill Edward Snowden

What Really Happened Radio Show: Michael Rivero Wednesday, Jun 12 2013: (Commercial Free Video)


Date: 06/12/2013
Michael Rivero is the webmaster of http://whatreallyhappened.com/ and host of the What Really Happened radio shows on the Republic Broadcasting Network. Formerly with NASA, Michael transitioned his image processing skills (along with a brief stint as an actor) into the then-new motion picture computer animation field and has worked on films such as "Star Trek", "The Day After Tomorrow", and has supervised visual effects on "Brainscan," "LOST", and "Hawaii Five-0." Michael has taken a sabbatical from film work to focus all his efforts on peace activism. Michaels foray into blogging began before the word was even invented, and happened almost by accident when he spotted a suspicious photograph being broadcast on ABC news in 1994 related to the death of White House deputy Council Vincent Foster. Since that sudden beginning, Michaels website has expanded to cover diverse topics including the JFK assassination, the accidental shoot-down of TWA 800, election fraud, health issues, Saddams non-existent nuclear weapons, 9-11, the economy, and of course, the lies used to trick the United States into wars of conquest on Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Iran. Michael resides in Hawaii with his wife Claire, who is a composer and creates much of theme music used on the What Really Happened radio show.

BREAKING NSA Leaker Edward Snowden Talks to S China Post: I'm not Traitor, I'm American

NSA Leaker Edward Snowden : I'm not Traitor, I'm American


(South China Morning Post) Surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden has spoken for the first time since blowing his own cover in an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post.

The ex-CIA analyst has been holed up in secret locations in Hong Kong since fleeing Hawaii ahead of highly sensitive leaks revealing details of US top-secret phone and internet surveillance of its citizens.

Snowden's actions have been both praised and condemned globally.

But he told Post reporter Lana Lam: "I'm neither traitor nor hero. I'm an American."

Today, he reveals:

more explosive details on US surveillance targets
his plans for the immediate future
the steps he claims the US has taken since he broke cover in Hong Kong
his fears for his family
The 29-year-old was working for defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton at the National Security Agency (NSA), the biggest spy surveillance organisation in the world, when he leaked information claiming the US was systematically seizing vast amounts of phone and web data. Snowden fled to Hong Kong after using Britain's Guardian newspaper to expose the agency's PRISM program which gives officials easy access to data held by nine of the world's top internet companies, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Skype.

People who think I made a mistake in picking HK as a location misunderstand my intentions. I am not here to hide from justice; I am here to reveal criminality
"People who think I made a mistake in picking HK as a location misunderstand my intentions. I am not here to hide from justice; I am here to reveal criminality," Snowden told the Post earlier today.

He vowed to fight any extradition attempt by the US government, saying: "My intention is to ask the courts and people of Hong Kong to decide my fate. I have been given no reason to doubt your system.''

It is believed the US is pursuing a criminal investigation, but no extradition request has yet been filed. Hong Kong has an extradition treaty with the US, although analysts say any attempts to bring Mr Snowden to America may take months and could be blocked by Beijing.

His actions have been both praised and condemned globally, with some hailing him a hero while others a traitor. Some senators have accused Snowden of treason.

Edward Snowden The NSA Whistleblower Goes Public

An ex-CIA employee working as a contractor at the U.S. National Security Agency said he leaked documents and details of a top secret U.S. surveillance program in order to protect the "basic liberties for people around the world." Edward Snowdon is hiding in a hotel room in Hong Kong and waiting for big dudes in black suits to extradite him for revealing the PRISM and Verizon documents.Holed up in a hotel room in Hong Kong, Edward Snowden, 29, said he had thought long and hard before publicizing details of an NSA program code-named PRISM, saying he had done so because he felt the United States was building an unaccountable and secret espionage machine that spied on every American.Edward Snowden, the Booz Allen Hamilton staffer with a top-secret security clearance who leaked details of NSA surveillance, is welcome to seek asylum in Iceland, according to lawmaker Birgitta Jónsdóttir and Smari McCarthy, executive director of the International Modern Media Institute, an organization dedicated to protecting whistleblowers.

Who is whistleblower Edward Snowden

Josh rogin speaks to Al Jazeera about whistleblower Edward Snowden : Josh Rogin of the Daily Beast talks to Al Jazeera about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Obama's NSA Spy Op Revealed!

Edward Snowden, the source behind the Guardian's NSA files talks to Glenn Greenwald in Hong Kong about his motives for the biggest intelligence leak in a generation.

Edward Snowden The 29-year-old source behind the biggest intelligence leak in the NSA's history explains his motives, his uncertain future and why he never intended on hiding in the shadows. The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell. The Guardian, after several days of interviews, is revealing his identity at his request. From the moment he decided to disclose numerous top-secret documents to the public, he was determined not to opt for the protection of anonymity. "I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong," he said. Snowden will go down in history as one of America's most consequential whistleblowers, alongside Daniel Ellsberg and Bradley Manning. He is responsible for handing over material from one of the world's most secretive organisations --